Adventures into Meenash
by insomination
Summary: I ship it. Leave me alone.
1. Comfort Zone

Meena fidgeted in her stupid dress with her stupid heels and bemoaned her past self. Mr. Moon was having some party for some milestone of the new theater. One month anniversary? Who knows. She stopped listening after party because he was talking about fancy-clothes-small-talk-suffocating party, not pizza-and-friends, and she was obviously not going. Right?  
Wrong. Mr. Moon had even said "Attendance isn't mandatory, come if you want." He practically handed her a way out of showing up, but when he went around to see who was going, her voice said "I'll go." before her brain could catch up. Everyone looked at her, stunned. Even Mike was too shocked to mouth off. "O-Ok." Moon stuttered, and moved on. At the time, it just made her more determined. She was getting over this nervousness thing. She practically owned the stage when she preformed. This would be easy.  
It was only later on that she was picking out her outfit that it hit her. There would be no stage. No singing. No performance. Singing was a sprint. One or two songs, three max. Then you're done. This party would go on for hours. It would be a marathon. But she wasn't backing out now. She had told the Theater Family that she would be there, and be there she would. A sliver of determination found it's way into her heart, and she clung to it desperately. She'd need every iota she could get.

She got to the party, and everything was in full swing. The band was playing (poorly, in her opinion, but her standards were high), people were chatting, and alcohol she couldn't drink was flowing. She made it halfway across the room before she got noticed. And when it hit, it hit hard. She was (arguably) the biggest hit at their Show in the Rubble. She near-literally brought the house down. So when everyone saw the elephant with the voice that could make angels cry, they had to meet her. All at once. In one big freaking swarm.  
"Meena! Meena! Can I get an autograph?"  
"Meena! What's in the works for your next song?"  
"Meena! How do you keep your voice in such good condition?"  
"Meena over here!"  
"Meena!"  
"Meena!"  
It took every shred of her willpower not to turn and bolt for the door. As it was, she was pretty sure she was hunching over and stuttering. There were just too many voices.  
"OW!" "Aie! Hey, watch it!" "Ouch! Jeez, those are sharp."  
Meena looked up from the floor (when did she start looking at the floor?) to see all the people clearing out a hole in the crowd. And at the head, parting them like the Red Sea, was Ash. Using her quills as a deterrent, she poked, pricked, and jabbed her way to Meena. In a loud, commanding voice Ash announced "Hey Meena, can you come help me in the practice boxes? I think Johnny left some stuff I need on a shelf I can't reach." Her eyes dared someone to challenge her blatant lie. No one rose to it though, and the crowd dispersed as Ash led Meena backstage.

"Is there some way I can hug you without hurting myself?"  
"Hang on a second." Ash replied. With some effort, her quills seemed to fold down, becoming closer to a smooth surface*. Meena took the opportunity, picking up the porcupine and hugging her close.  
"Meen-ah! Too ah tight!"  
"Sorry!" Meena gasped, putting Ash back down gently. "I guess I'm only used to hugging other elephants."  
"It's no problem. I can handle a little squishing. Just maybe not that much squishing next time." Ash laughed a little, and hopped up onto a box. Smiling at Meena, she patted the spot next to her. The box looked sturdy enough, so Meena took the spot. "Thanks for saving me out there too. I guess I kinda froze up."  
"Don't worry about it. I've got you. I wish I could tell you that won't happen a lot, but you made a big name for yourself at the Rubble. You were the best performance there-"  
"Arguable."  
"By who?"  
"Mike."  
"Ha! Mike will take it to his grave, but he was impressed by your performance. I could see it in his eyes."  
"He'd still say his was better."  
"Yeah, but it's Mike. He'll say he's a better heart surgeon than a practicing doctor. Anyway, you attracted a lot of attention with your voice. People are gonna mob you a lot."  
Meena only nodded. She knew it was true. But she really didn't want it to be.  
"You're so self confident Ash."  
"Huh?"  
"It's true. You are. You don't let anyone push you around. If Mike hands you some kind of underhanded compliment or arrogant insult, you don't just sigh like the rest of us. You hit him right back. You even left your jerk of a boyfriend. That was awesome!"  
Meena thought she heard Ash mutter "another reason", but the rocker spoke up too quickly for her to ask. "It kinda comes with the genre Meen."  
"Can you teach me?"  
"What?"  
"Can you teach me how to be self-confident?"  
"Uh, I don't know if it's something you can teach."  
"Well can you help me look for it then?"  
Ash stared at her for a few seconds, and Meena began to worry that she had overstepped their friendship.  
"Of course I can."  
"Thank you! Oh thank you Ash!"  
Ash's smiles were small, but still genuine.  
Meena sighed and looked back to the door. "I bet it's not going to happen in the next five minutes though, is it?"  
"Nope." Ash answered. Hopping down off the box, she looked back at Meena. "Ready?"  
"Probably not, but let's go."

Ash and Meena were inseparable for the rest of the evening, and Ash glared a Death Glare at anyone who wasn't Theater Family who got within ten feet of Meena. Except for Mike. Remembering what Mike had said about Meena when they were all starting out, he was on permanent Death-Glare status until further notice.  
Ash said she had Meena's back, and she sure as Hell wasn't gonna let her down.


	2. Make Believe

Ash grimaced as she leaned back from her computer. The page was blank, as it had been for the last half hour. It was official. She had writer's block, and no way to unstick it. In the past, her songs had always come from her emotions, as did the rest of the Theater Family. But that was kind of her problem. She was too happy to write a rock song. Her main source of emotion, her dislike of her now ex-boyfriend, was gone. She was over him, and it couldn't be better. Which was the problem. Cursing, she got up and left the Practice Box, calling "I'm taking a walk Moon!" up the stairs, not really caring if the manager heard or not.

Trudging up the sidewalk, Ash continued to stew in her own negativity. If only she could write a song about not knowing what to write a song about! If only that weren't the dumbest idea on the planet! Sighing, she stopped on the corner and waited for the light to change. Eyes wandering, she spotted a familiar figure sitting at a bench on the other side of the street. Changing her route, she made her way over to Meena and said "Hey Meena"  
"Oh! Ash! Hey there! What's up?"  
"I can't think of anything to use for my next album."  
"Huh. Have a seat."  
Ash hopped up onto the bench next to Meena, and leaned back on her quills.  
"Ice cream?" Meena asked, and offered her her cone.  
"Depends on what's on it."  
"Cotton Candy."  
"Really?"  
"Look stingy, want any or not?"  
"Why not? Do you think you could hold it for me though? Cone looks bigger than my whole body."  
"Sure."  
For a while, the pair just sat there, exchanging licks on the ice cream cone. Eventually, Meena spoke up. Hey, see that guy over there? With the bad hawaiian shirt?"  
"Hard to miss him."  
"Make up a story about him."  
"Why?"  
"Humor me."  
Ash sighs and focuses on the man leaning against the pole. "He…his name in Nick. He has a long distance relationship with his wife, who is a doctor in Spain. He works at a travel agency, which explains the shirt, and he mains Genji on Overwatch."  
"Wow. Don't throw the man under the bus like that. Try that one over there. And think bigger."  
"She's…a demon who's escaped Hell! Trying to hide in the mortal world."  
"Nice. Do him next"  
And so this went on for the rest of the ice cream. Ash came up with all kinds of stories, some making Meena laugh, some making her cry. When Meena took the last bite of the cone, she stood up and said "Well do you feel more creative now?"  
"I don't know. But either way, I'm not feeling angry anymore."  
"Well I guess that's all we can really hope for, huh? Want to walk back with me?"  
"You bet."


	3. The Classic

The first day Ash consciously saw her started out like any other day. The only reason it was "consciously" is because, like any good retail employee, Ash had found a way to sleepwalk her way through her job. She could get through the day using only 25% of her brain power max, which she considered a valuable asset to stop her from killing some of the customers she got. The one prior to her was particularly bad. The little mouse pestered her for the entirety of the coffee making process, took one sip, complained about it, paid, and didn't leave a tip. When she got to the order window, she plastered on the "retail smile" and said to the waiting elephant "Hello there. What can I get you today?"  
"Uuuhhhh..."  
That was not one of the menu items, and before she could stop herself, the thought came out. She immediately slapped her hands over her mouth, horrified she had said that to a customer who hadn't even been a jerk yet. But then something miraculous happened. The elephant laughed.  
Oh that laugh could make a grown woman believe in magic again.  
"You're right, I guess it's not. Sorry. I get nervous around people sometimes. I'll just take a hot chocolate please."  
"For who?"  
"Meena. Two e's"  
The elephant followed the drink down the line, but stayed silent during the whole process, assumedly listening to whatever was in her headphones. She paid, said a soft "thank you", stirred some sugar into the hot chocolate (what? why?) and then was on her way.  
Ash watched her go.

The second day Ash saw her was a week later, same day. She ordered the same thing, minus the pause, and followed her down the line again. Ash decided to be bold. After all, no one looks twice at a server. Might as well be a robot.  
"Same day as last week, huh?"  
"What?"  
"You came in last week, the same day. I'd bet the same time too."  
"You remember a lot of the faces that come through here?"  
 _Only the pretty ones_. "Not a lot of people order hot chocolate from a coffee place."  
"Ah. Yeah, same time. This is the only time my singing classes let out early, and this place is closer than my old one. I gave it a shot."  
"Oh? How'd we do?"  
"Fantastic. This hot chocolate really does wonders on my throat."  
"Well I'm glad to hear it. Here you go. Total is-"  
"Same as last time I presume?"  
"Funnily enough, yes."  
The giggle was less powerful than the laugh, but still a force to be reckoned with.  
"Have a nice day!" She called to the retreating figure.  
"You too!"

Ash was ready the third time. She tried not to make it look like she had looking forward to this next five minutes for the past three days. Because she hadn't. Of course.  
"Hey Ash. I'm gonna guess you know my order?"  
"You bet. I'll get on that."  
Silence for a while.  
"So you go to singing classes?"  
"Yeah. My teacher says I have a natural talent, but I should really be going to public speaking classes."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. I have a hard time talking with new people. But, ironically enough, I'm too scared to make the appointment."  
"But we're talking right now, and we've only met three times."  
"Well you're different. You're so easy to talk to."  
"It's a retail worker thing. We may as well be wearing grey anonymous masks. Pretty interchangeable. Not really important."  
"No!"  
The entire cafe turned to look up at the pair, but Meena couldn't see. She was staring Ash dead in her surprised eyes. "You're not interchangeable, or unimportant. You're the best part of my day."  
"Uh, I uh, thank you." Ash was frozen solid, shocked by the loud reassurances. The moment was broken when Meena gently pushed the money for the completed drink into Ash's hand. Ash took it, gave her the change, and watched her leave.  
There's no way that she wasn't confident.

The fourth time Ash saw her was off schedule. She was three days late from her usual time, and they were the worst three days of her job. Everything just seemed less tolerable. Se tolerated it anyway, because that's what you did, but it was harder. Until she heard the "Hey Ash"  
"Meena!" Her head snapped up from the register. "Where have you been?" She cringed and immediately tried to backpedal "I'm sorry. That was really unprofessional, I've just-" missed you "been curious." smooth save there Einstein.  
"I dropped my singing class and signed up for a public speaking class. Different schedule."  
"Oh. Congratulations! How's it going?"  
"It's still hard. I got up there and stuttered through my speech."  
"Oh. Well, I'm sure you can do it. From now on, just pretend like you're talking to me in the audience!"  
Silence.  
"I'm sorry. Was that too weird? I just thought-"  
"No. It's perfect. Thank you." Meena said while handing her the  
The sincerity in Meena's voice made Ash feel like she could fly.  
But that wasn't all. As she was prepping the counter for the next order, Meena came back. "Uh, Ash?"  
"Yeah?"  
"There aren't any stirrers left."  
"Really? Shit." she muttered under her breath, then yelled over her shoulder "Hey Johnny! Out of stirrers!"  
"You got it Ash!" Called the gorilla, as he went to go grab another box. Ash bit her lip, then turned to Meena. "How tight is your schedule?"  
"Pretty tight."  
Ash only nodded, then reached behind her. Wincing a little, she pulled out one of her quills and handed it to Meena. "Here. you might want to run it under some water, but it's faster than waiting."  
"Oh my god! Did that hurt?"  
"Not really. Pretty much like pulling out a hair. I'll be Ok. Wasn't using it for much anyway."  
Meena looked down at the quill for a moment, then said "Thank you Ash."  
And then she left.

The fifth time Ash sees her she's on her new schedule. But there is a difference. Woven around a chain on her neck, sits a quill. A very familiar quill.  
"You kept it?"  
"Of course. When I'm doing my speaking, having you there? It, it helps."  
Both of them pretend not to notice Meena's blush.

The sixth time Ash sees her is a holiday. The shop is closed, but public speaking classes aren't.  
 _This is stupid. This is stupid and stalkerish and weird._ Ash thought as she entered what she hoped was the right building. She did her research, and this seemed like the only place that offered a brake to the practice sessions around when Meena came in.  
Ash took a seat in the back, and waited.  
Whatever deity or higher power that actually exists must have been on her side, because half an hour later, she stepped out onto the stage. Standing in front of the mic, Meena looked out over the assembled crowd. But the number was off. There was an extra today. Someone way in the back. Someone with pointy quills.  
Ash grinned and waved.  
Meena smiled and waved back. And then she gave her speech.

"Oh man that was great! I bet everyone else was so impressed!"  
"There were other people?"  
Ash turned away, absolutely not hiding a blush.  
"Thank you for coming. It made it a lot easier today."  
"You're absolutely welcome."  
There was a beat of silence, and then Meena blurted "Do you want to go somewhere? Together?"  
"Like where?"  
"Well, I was thinking coffee."  
Ash laughed and laughed, and at that moment, Meena decided to do whatever she had to hear that laugh whenever she could.  
It could make a grown woman believe in magic.


	4. Sickmas

Ash sighed and popped another cough drop into her mouth as she snuggled closer into her blankets. Singing was half of her claim to fame, and when something threatened her voice, she took it seriously. Sh wasn't going to push this cold. Luckily Moon understood, and gave her full time off to recover. So here she was, laying on her couch and binging all of everything in her Netflix queue. A knock at the door interrupted the sound, and Ash hit the pause to go check it. Opening the door, she was greeted by Meena, her close friend and partner in rhyme. "Meena? What's up?"  
"I have gifts from everyone at the theater. They would have all come, but we didn't want to crowd you. I…I volunteered."  
"Awesome."  
"Also I was the only one who could carry this-" she grunted and hauled a giant pot from the side of the doorway "-by myself."  
"Frozen Hell what is that?"  
"This is Rosita's homemade chicken soup. Unfortunately, I think she made it for 35 piglets, not one porcupine."  
"No kidding! I could go swimming in that thing. Could you put it in the corner of the kitchen?"  
"You got it."  
Ash followed her in, partially to offer her meager assistance in case something went wrong, and partially to keep herself from spoiling the surprise of what everyone else brought. "So, what's next?" Ash asked, sounding like a kid on Christmas. Meena noticed and smiled to herself as she walked back to the car.  
"From Johnny, we have a bag of industrial-strength cough drops-"  
"Nice.  
"-from Puerto Rico."  
"Ho boy. Maybe if I'm going to go get my leg cut off."  
"Gunter gave you this disco ball."  
"Why?"  
"We don't know. Maybe you could fit it into your apartment somewhere."  
"Why not. I'll try."  
"Mr. Moon gave you this plushie."  
"Really."  
"He said that's what you'd say, so he told me to tell you it's a plushie of the common cold virus."  
"Better."  
"And also this lighter."  
"Now we're talking."  
"Eddie got you these scented candles."  
"Yeah?"  
"I think he was confused by the whole 'Rocker Girl' thing, so half of them smell like Vanilla and such, and half of them smell like 'Angst'."  
"Well that will be interesting."  
"I held my breath all the way over."  
"Should I even ask what Mike offered?"  
"The comforting words, 'Suck it up Pointy.'"  
"Ah, good 'ole Mike. So kind. So thoughtful. And did you come with something?"  
"Of course." Removing a cooler from the back seat that Ash could comfortably lay in, Meena opened it to reveal it stocked to the brim with-  
"Ice cream! Oh, you're a saint Meena."  
"I remember getting a cold once. My throat hurt all the time, and only ice cream helped. I didn't know what flavor you liked, so I got all of the classics I could find. Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, and such."  
"Fantastic."  
Ash just stood there, staring at the cooler. She looked like she was contemplating something.  
"Uh, Ash?"  
"Hey Meena, what's your favorite movie?"  
"Huh? Well, I'd say _The Secret Life of Walter Mitty_."  
"Excellent. I've never heard of it."  
"Uh…"  
"Want to come watch it with me? And help me eat this large amount of ice cream?"  
"Uh, sure. Yeah! Yeah I'd love to. Let me just tell my parents I'll be late."  
"Sweet."

Ash totally didn't cry at any part. Shut up.


	5. Old Tales, New Stories

Meena basked in the flashing lights and moon's glow. Ash should never have assumed she would be shy and timid, since she had gotten out of that phase a long time ago. Meena was sure of herself now. And Ash was sure Meena was Queen of the Carnival. Ash didn't know how she did it, but any game they played, she won at least a minor prize. And that was saying something, considering how rigged these games were.  
"How do you do it?" She asked in between her Slurpee straw.  
"Do what?"  
"Nail all those games. They're rigged so hard not even the owners can beat them, but you swept the entire aisle!" She said, gesturing to the parking lot where her car sat with a pile of stuffed animals, inflatable objects, and even an Ash-sized sword, which was a Meena sized knife sat in the trunk. She still couldn't believe that they were offering that as a prize.  
"Like, the sights on that shooting game were crooked. I could tell, and I wasn't even holding the rifle. How'd you do it?"  
"Well," Meena said, her ears flattening lower down to her head. Ash knew from experience that meant the story wasn't pleasant. She put down the Slurpee and gave Meena her full attention.  
"This exact carnival has been coming here forever. I used to come here a lot back when…"  
When I didn't have any friends.  
"And I played the games. They were a good way to pass the time. Eventually I got really good at them. God, I must've drained at least a thousand dollars into this place over the course of a decade."  
"Holy shit really?"  
"Yeah. This is just me getting my money back."  
"Wow."  
A beat of semi-comfortable silence.  
"Ok. Now, you have to tell me how you do that."  
"Do what?"  
"That." Meena said, gesturing across the table to Ash's Slurpee. "That's the fourth one of those you've had. And you don't seem any more energized than before."  
Ash laughed and sucked the rest of the Slurpee back. "Oh you haven't seen anything yet."

God almighty Ash was something else. She topped off those four Slurpees with eight cotton candies. EIGHT.  
"Ash. I love you, and I respect your choices. But please, I'm worried about your health. You've got to stop."  
"I feel fine, Meena!"  
"I know you do. But please, for me."  
"Ok. For you."  
"Thank you."

Sure enough, Ash was rolling around on her back, groaning a few hours later.  
"I can't believe you." Meena sighed fondly and rubbed Ash's stomach.  
"It's actually usually a lot worse." Ash said in between her pitiful moans. "Thank you for being my common sense."  
"You're welcome dear."


	6. The Closest of Friends

Ash fidgeted in the driver's seat as they sped down the highway. She tried to distract herself with the song that was playing on the radio, and the fact that Meena was dueting with her and singing her part gorgeously. But it was so difficult to pay attention when her bladder felt like it was about to burst. She knew that it was a bad idea to have that fourth large Sprite, but she just couldn't help it. She drank soda so little, that when the opportunity arose she had to make the most of it. And oh boy she did. She made too much of it in fact. But the next rest stop was only ten miles away, and she could hold it as long as nothi-  
The radio made a funny crackling sound. Then the engine made a disturbing rattling sound. Then the car died.  
 _Oh no._  
Using the momentum to pull the car to the side of the road, she hopped out and popped the trunk. Then immediately stepped back, coughing and gasping. The fumes that were coming out of that engine were definitely not healthy.  
"Ash! Are you Ok?"  
"I'm fine, just stay back! You don't want to breathe that stuff in."  
"Ok. What now?"  
Pulling out her phone, Ash replied "Well since I don't think I can fix this, I'll call and get a tow."  
Dialing her insurance company, Ash put the phone to her ear and tried to focus on the ringing.  
"Hello this is AAA how can I help you?"  
"Hi. My car broke down and it needs a tow."  
"Ok one second…..it'll take us about an hour to get there."  
"An hour!?"  
"Edwards Bridge is very out of the way ma'am."  
It was then that Ash realized where she was. Edwards Bridge.  
Right over Lake Idris, the fastest lake in the state.  
 _God dammit._

Ash couldn't do it. It had only been 20 minutes, but she was pretty sure she could feel her bladder slipping. She had taken to walking laps around the car, which was better than doing a (much less flattering than usual) dance. Meena was sitting on the ground in front of the car, leaning against it. She watched Ash for as long as she could with every revolution around the vehicle, until she just couldn't take it anymore.  
"Ash, I know what's going on."  
"What?" Ash said, stopping in her tracks for the first time in ten minutes.  
"Ash. You had four Sprites back at our last rest stop. I get it."  
Ash just looked at Meena for a moment, until she figured there was no tricking the elephant.  
"Fine! Yes! I have to go! What else do you suggest I do?"  
Meena looked around, then slowly eked out. "Well, there isn't anyone else here." Then she looked pointedly over to the railing of the bridge.  
Ash paled. "No. No way! Absolutely not!"  
"Well can you hold it for another 45 minutes at least?"  
Ash whimpered just at the thought. There was no way that was happening.  
"Well, even if I were to do that," she stated, looking over to the railing again "what do I do? Just hang there?"  
"…I could hold you."  
"Meena!"  
"Look, do you want to wait or not?"  
Ash bit her lip and looked back over to the railing. Sighing, she took her jacket off. "Fine."

The rest of their time was spent in silence. The tow guy asked if they needed a ride, but they both opted to walk together. They had to part ways at the theater, and Ash turned to face Meena.  
"So, uuhh…"  
"Don't worry. I'll take it to my grave."  
"Thank you Meena."  
"Hey, that's what friends are for."  
Tiny little stab in her heart at "friends", but that was a problem for another day.  
"Well, I guess not for that."  
Meena laughed and replied "No, not that usually. But hey, at least I have a funny memory out of it. And I don't think I've ever seen anyone look as happy as you did after-"  
"Ok! Ok! I get it!" Ash laughed out. "See you tomorrow Meena."  
"See you then Ash."


	7. Knight in Shining Hoodie

It was 7:30 when the knock came. Ash was a little hesitant to answer, since no one should know where her apartment is. But, like any curious animal, she answered the door.  
And immediately wished that she hadn't.  
"Lance!? What the fuck? Give me one good reason I shouldn't slam this door in your face."  
"Because, and you probably didn't even realize this, but you missed me."  
That didn't cut it.  
"Come on Ash!" Lance called from outside the door as she stomped back to the living room. "You know you did!"  
"I know you need to leave!"  
"Calm down and think clearly! You need me."  
"I need you like I need a hole in my head!"  
"Ha! You said 'I need you', which proves it!"  
"What?"  
"It's your subconscious mind! It knows!"  
"That's not even a real thing!"  
"Don't worry baby! I'm not leaving you until you see it!"  
"Ugh. Prick." Ash muttered to herself, then muttered, then laughed to herself at her little joke. Turning up the music, she laid back and flicked on the light to read.

Unfortunately, Lance decided to turn up the music too. He had been singing punk rock love songs to her for the past hour, and they still sounded just as bad as when they started. "God, how did I ever work with that guy?" Ash muttered to herself, then swallowed her pride and picked up her phone to call in back up.  
"Hey Ash. What's up?"  
"Meena. Hi. I need your help."  
"Sure. What's up?"  
"Lance has been outside my apartment for the past hour and a half, and he's too dense to get the 'Go away' messages in the bottles I keep throwing at him."  
"Got it. I'll be there in 15."  
"Thanks babe. You're a lifesaver."  
"Aw. Thank you."  
The time seemed a lot more bearable now that she knew her girlfriend was coming soon.

Lance was just getting to the part about how amazing he and Ash would be together (and how not amazing Ash was when separated from him) when he heard the "Excuse me."  
"Whaaaaa…" He started as he turned, but got distracted by the elephant's size. She was at least four times his size! In any measurable way!  
"I heard you were bothering this nice woman."  
"Heh. Yeah right. Who'd you hear that from?"  
"The woman."  
Lance turned around to see Ash in the window, flipping him off.  
"Whatever! You can't stop me from getting her back."  
"Oh I'm so sorry you said that."  
"Whyyyiiiiieeeee!"  
Meena picked Lance up with her trunk (gently) and walked him over to his car.  
"Time to leave now."  
"I'm not defenseless! I can shoot my quills at you!"  
"Elephant skin is too thick. They'd just bounce off of me."  
In a desperate last-chance effort, Lance tried it. Sure enough, the quills hit Meena's skin and bounced of, _plink_ ing pitifully against the ground.  
"Yeah? Well! This isn't over!" Lance called out as he sped away. Meena just shook her head and rang Ash's doorbell.  
"He's gone!"  
Ash opened the door and literally jumped into Meena's arms.  
"Thank you Meena. I'd ask you to stay the night as thanks, but…"  
"No where I can fit. I know."  
Ash settled for a kiss instead. "See you tomorrow?"  
"Always." Meena replied with a grin.


	8. Stray

Ash used to not see why people told some stories by saying "The day started out like any other." No shit. You didn't go base jumping that morning?  
But looking back now, she understood, because it is impressive that something so life-changing could happen on just another day. Practice at the theater had gone well, and everyone was heading home. Ash would normally drive back to their place with Meena, but today was nice and they needed groceries so she decided to take a stroll and stop by the market nearby, enjoying the sun and breeze. Meena would meet her back at the house.  
She was just around the corner from the shop when her ear caught the noise. The softest whimper she'd ever heard. If there had been any other noise at the time, she would have missed it, but the street was clear, no one was shouting, and even the wind was calm. Slowly, she made her way down the alley she thought it had come from. She stepped lightly, worrying about some sort of mugging trap until she heard it again, further ahead to the left. Approaching the source, she saw two fuzzy ears poking out of a dirty box, no bigger than a loaf of bread. Leaning down, she flipped back one of the flaps and her heart broke immediately. Inside the box was a little wolf cub no older than two, curled up and shivering.  
"Oh. Hey there little…girl. What happened? Who left you out here?"  
The pup, of course, did not respond. Looking for some sort of note, or ID, or anything proved fruitless, so Ash made a snap decision.

"Hey Meena! I'm home!"  
"And we…uh…have a guest."  
"Oh?" Meena asked, walking out into the entryway. There, she was greeted with the sight of Ash holding a box of tiny wolf baby.  
"I'm sorry Meen. But she was just out on the street, in some alley! I couldn't leave her! And look at her belly, I bet she hasn't eaten in days!"  
"It's Ok Ash. I understand. We'll clean her up and house her for a while. Until we find her parents."  
"Yeah. Until then."

As it turned out, having a child around was a lot more difficult than Ash had imagined. After a good night of rest, they agreed that Ash would stay home and keep an eye on the baby (or Temporary House Guest, as Ash was calling her), while Meena would head in and explain everything.  
This was not a great idea for Ash.  
Bath time was a nightmare. 'Temp' may have been small, but she had an iron grip that nearly got Ash drowned in the tub. But Temp got clean regardless. Next was feeding, which didn't work either. Ash's finite patience was pushed to the breaking point when Temp refused to eat anything, and instead decided to paint the walls with her food. Then came nap time, which at least Temp did calmly and quietly. But lunch time went the same as breakfast, and by the end of the day Ash knew she needed help with Temp if either of them were going to survive living together. The next day, she did the only thing she could think to do. She went to the Theater and begged Rosita for help. And, since Rosita was the Queen of all Moms, she agreed. After fainting from hearing what Ash did the day before, she sat Ash down and said "Alright. Parenting 101. Pay attention, there's a test next Tuesday."

And so, with much help from Rosita, and no small amount of help from Meena, Ash learned how to Mom. She still wasn't perfect at it, like Rosita or Meena (she had a lot of adorable pictures saved of Meena and Temp for future albums), she got by. After all, this wasn't permanent. They were going to find her another home eventually.

The day it all changed was really a day like any other. Ash was home with Temp playing with toys. The window was open, sun shining in onto the floor. Perfect snapshot of a domestic life. Little Temp wobbled around and slapped her foam centipede on the ground, laughing. She wobbled over and put her little paws on Ash's face, and Ash couldn't help but giggle a bit. Temp was so cute.  
"Hey there little lady. What's on your mind?"  
"Ma…Ma…Mama!"

Meena came home that day to find Ash laying on the ground, Temp clutched tight in her arms. There were tears streaming down her face, but she had the biggest smile on Meena had ever seen.  
"Uh, Ash? Are you Ok?"  
"We can't give her away Meena. We have to keep her. She's ours now."  
"Uhhh…why?"  
Sitting up, Ash turned Temp to face her and said "Can you do it again? Can you do it again my baby girl?"  
"Mama!"


	9. Irony

Ash knew there really wasn't any point in running. But she had to try. It was part of who she was.  
"Ash, come on! Don't be like this!" She heard Johnny call from behind her as she ducked down an alley. They weren't gonna get her. She could use her size to her advantage. If she could just-  
"Ahem."  
Slowly looking behind her, Ash saw Eddie with a burlap sack.  
 _Dammit._

"Ash, sweetie, this is for your health."  
"I'm not doing it Rosita!"  
"Ash, I-"  
"No!"  
Rosita sighed and left. Making her way back to the waiting room, she shook her head at Buster. Hopping out of the waiting room chair, he said "Crap, I really wish that had worked."  
"I'm sorry Moon, she just won't do it."  
"Oh she'll do it. I just didn't want it to come to this."  
"What do you mean?"  
Motioning for Rosita to follow, Moon turned a corner in the waiting room. Turning the corner, Rosita saw Meena sitting in one of the chairs, reading a magazine. When she saw Moon come around the corner and looked up.  
"You're up." Moon said to her.  
Nodding, Meena rose from the chair, put the magazine down, and headed into the room.

"Uh…hey Ash."  
Ash jerked in her seat at the sound of the voice she had become so familiar with.  
"Oh no. Absolutely not."  
"Ash-"  
"Nope."  
"Ash, at least look at me."  
"No."  
"Why not?"  
"'Cause I can't say no to your stupid, beautiful face."  
Meena sighed and sat down next to Ash who was, true to her word, adamantly faced away from her. Meena began to brush her paw down Ash's back, smoothing out the quills.  
"Ash. Please."  
"I can't say no to your voice either. Stop talking."  
Meena did as she was asked, but continued to run her paw down Ash's quills.  
Time passed.  
"Oh no. Your silence is worse."  
"I can only do one."  
"But why? Why do I need to get the shot IN MY MOUTH?"  
"You have 4 untreated cavities. It's either that, or lose your teeth."  
"Well…"  
"I lied. It's just that. There is no other option."  
"Oh come on!"  
"Do you want me to hold your paw?"  
"…would you judge me if I said yes?"  
"Not at all."

It didn't cure Ash's fear of needles, but it did help this time. And probably would for all the future times too.


End file.
